“Playing in America made me depressed,” is Martin Dempster’s take on, “When it comes to Nicolas Colsaerts, there’s no Belgian waffle. The Brussels-born player is one of golf’s straight-talkers, as he displayed during a visit to Glasgow as the guest of honour at the PGA in Scotland luncheon.”

Can’t do this any moreMartin writes, “In the two years I (Colsaerts) spent in the US, I think I had some sort of depression going on for many reasons,” revealed the man who elevated himself above Flory Van Donck, winner of 60 professional events and a two-time Open Championship runner-up in the 1950s, as Belgian’s best-known golfer after becoming the country’s first Ryder Cup player. “I ended up being out there all the time, my golf game wasn’t what I expected it to be and so everything together made it hard for me to handle things I was going through at the time. That’s why when I got to April of my second season out there I called it off, I said I can’t do this any more.”

Everything’s just the sameThe sameness of the majority of the PGA Tour golf courses is an oft made comment when they’re compared to the variety of the European Tour courses and Nicolas had something to say on ‘sameness’.

“When you play on Tour in Europe you change countries every week, you change food all the time but in the US it’s all the same. OK, Arizona is not the same as Florida or the north east of the US, but it’s the same yellow line on the roads, it’s the same restaurants everywhere and the same chicken caeser salad. For me, that got a bit boring in the end.”

Like playing for Real MadridNicolas says, “In a way, the thing about America is that you do feel that you are playing for Real Madrid. They look after you unbelievably, but for somebody who has always done his own thing, was always ‘happy’ to have some sort of freedom…It was kind of getting on my nerves, always being checked, always somebody there. It’s just like the crowds over there. I had a hard time understanding why these people always are on top of you, wanting to get within you. I’ve always been quite happy sharing in things, and giving away things, but give me some space. I kind of lost a little bit of freedom and the easiness that I’ve had with people. They are socially different than we are.”

Link to Martin Dempster Quote of the Day“When you get back to European events you feel, ‘gosh this is lovely’, you go on the driving range in America and players talk to reps, but they don’t talk to one another.” – Nicolas Colsaerts